Peggy Orlin, M.S., M.F.T.

Biography

Peggy Orlin, MS, MFT is a Marriage and Family Therapist who specializes in the emotional aspects of infertility, third party family building, and adoption. She has been a therapist for 24 years, a counselor to those experiencing infertility for 15 years and has been affiliated with Pacific Fertility Center for the past 10 years.

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A native of Buffalo, New York, Ms. Orlin received a master’s degree from Hofstra University. She moved to the Bay Area in 1978 where she completed her postgraduate training at the Family Therapy Center in San Francisco and at the Marin Psychotherapy Institute.

Her personal history of infertility led her to sub specialize in infertility counseling. At Pacific Fertility Center, she has co-led stress reduction classes for patients and co-ordinates discussions for staff on ethical issues in reproductive medicine. Her involvement with third party family building includes psychological screening of all involved - donors, recipients and gestational surrogates.

Ms. Orlin’s professional associations include the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, where she is immediate Past Chair of the Executive Committee of the Mental Health Professional Group, and RESOLVE, the national infertility organization, where she is a member of their Mental Health Advisory Board. She regularly speaks at conferences on infertility.

She maintains an interest in disclosure and attachment issues that affect individuals and their children involved with ART and adopted children. In addition to her infertility counseling, Ms. Orlin enjoys working with couples, adults dealing with grief and loss, and those coping with anxiety and relationship problems.

In line with her long history of including stress reduction as an adjunct to her fertility counseling, Ms. Orlin has received Mind/Body Teacher Training with Alice Domar, PhD. (Dr. Alice Domar, is a pioneer in the development of mind/body programs for infertility.) She is co-teacher of Mind/Body@PFC Weekend Workshop.

Philip Werthman, M.D.

Biography

At age 46, Dr. Werthman is the most recognized vasectomy reversal surgeon and male fertility specialist in the world, appearing on ABC’s Extreme Makeover and in every major news media outlet and listed as one of “America’s Top Physicians” 2005. He was the recipient of the 2008 Path2Parenthood’s Illuminations Award, given to the outstanding fertility doctor in the nation.

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Dr. Werthman is a fellowship-trained andrologist, Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, Diplomate of the American Board of Urology and Director of the Center for Male Reproductive Medicine in Century City, Los Angeles. He is the current President of the Los Angeles Urologic Society and has served as former Chief of Urology at Century City Hospital, and is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Urology at The University of Southern California School of Medicine. As a male infertility specialist, Dr. Werthman has a keen understanding and perspective of the unique issues that confront men who are faced with this unfamiliar and unsettling situation.

Dr. Werthman’s practice is limited exclusively to microsurgical vasectomy reversal, no-scalpel vasectomy and the treatment of male infertility. He has performed thousands of microsurgical procedures and well over 2000 no-scalpel vasectomies. He has conducted basic science and clinical research in the areas of gene therapy for male infertility for which he was awarded the American Urological Association Western Section’s highest resident award, the Proctor and Gamble First Prize Essay in 1995. He is also actively involved in designing and refining microsurgical instrumentation and suture materials used in male infertility treatments.

Dr. Werthman was the first fertility specialist to perform microsurgical epididymal sperm aspirations in the office setting under local anesthesia, taking a 2-hour, in hospital surgery and making it a quick recovery, minor procedure. He is also the developer of the mini-incision microsurgical vasoepididymostomy.

Dr. Werthman is the editor of a textbook on male infertility for the series “Infertility and Reproductive Medicine Clinics of North America” Published by WB Saunders, and is co-author of “The Sperm Goes in the Egg; A Guy’s Guide for Surviving Couples Infertility.” He serves as the male infertility expert on multiple web sites, advising thousands of couples. In addition, he is often called upon by the national media to comment on men’s health issues, and lectures frequently on infertility to both doctor and patient audiences around the country. Dr. Werthman is the only male fertility specialist on the advisory board of Conceive Magazine.

Piave Pitisci Lake, M.D., L.L.C.

Biography

Dr. Lake received her Bachelor’s Degree in Italian Literature from Bryn Mawr College in 1992. She was graduated from Tulane School of Medicine in 1997. She completed her residency in General Adult Psychiatry at the McGraw Medical Center of Northwestern University in Chicago in 2001 and served as Co-chief Resident during her fourth year of training.

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She became a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in 2002. She is a member of the American Psychiatric Association, the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, and the Mental Health Professional Group of ASRM. Dr. Lake has been in private practice as a general adult psychiatrist in Charleston, SC since 2002. She works individually with adults18 years to geriatric ages. She utilizes psychopharmacology and psychotherapy to treat a variety of problems, most commonly depression and anxiety. She has a special interest in treating those with infertility issues, women with perinatal and postpartum mood problems, and mood problems related to hormones. She also performs 3rd party evaluations, screenings and psychoeducational meetings for gamete donors, gestational carriers, and donor gamete recipients/intended parents. Please contact Dr. Lake at drpiave@mac.com.

Rachana V. Garde, M.D.

Biography

Dr. Garde earned her medical degree from the Medical University of South Carolina. Her Internship and Residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology were completed at Barnes Hospital, Washington School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO. Dr. Garde was then awarded a Fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Duke University Medical Center. She is the recipient of numerous academic awards and is a member of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists and the American Society of Reproductive Medicine.

Rachana V. Garde, M.D.

Biography

Dr. Garde earned her medical degree from the Medical University of South Carolina. Her Internship and Residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology were completed at Barnes Hospital, Washington School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO. Dr. Garde was then awarded a Fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Duke University Medical Center. She is the recipient of numerous academic awards and is a member of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists and the American Society of Reproductive Medicine.